Engineers and experts are speculating over the source of crystal clear fresh water discovered accidentally over the weekend during excavations to lay a sewerage pipeline in Sharjah city.
Some say the falaj (spring) struck in Al Ramla had been used several decades ago for potable water.
Others contend the water source really flows from an artesian well, and comprises rain water accumulated over many years that was earlier trapped between two impermeable rock strata, but has today found an outlet through the excavations.
The volume of water is also open to debate. The old-timers among UAE nationals recall a falaj that existed in Al Ramla. It was fed by several underwater sources, and used to provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Engineers yesterday readily agreed that the seepage indicated a well with a diameter of four metres and eight-metre deep might quickly fill up with potable sweet water, but they felt this would still be insufficient to meet the needs of large numbers of residents, judging by the water flow.
They, however, cautioned that only detailed studies could establish the quantity of water.
Workers engaged in the excavations being carried out by a private contractor on behalf of the municipal authorities to lay down a three-inch sewerage pipeline to carry effluents away from the residential areas said earlier they thought nothing of the water source when they discovered it on Thursday afternoon.
"All of Al Ramla has (brackish) water seeping in at depths of even two or three metres, and we had here gone down to four to five metres, so we didn't think it unusual," they said.
"It was only after some senior UAE citizens came here and checked out the water that we noticed it was sweet. And we were all delighted at the discovery," the workers said.
They added the trench they had excavated had a hard sabkha layer at this level, and this, being impervious, lends credence to the artesian well theory.
They also pointed out the half-a-kilometre stretch they had excavated was along a gradual slope while laying a ten millimetre aggregate bedding for the pipe.
"The fresh water appears to have found an outlet along this aggregate, but since the water flow started only when we hit the bottom part of the gradient on Thursday, the water quantity here is unlikely to be huge," they explained.
Site engineers are meanwhile constructing a deep sump to catch the water flowing out, and connect this to an existing drainage line on the other side of Al Wahda Street.
Gulf News 2003
